text:
- Just Released
- Sale Bestsellers
- Gifts for Him
- Gifts for Her
- Summer Fiction
- Back To School
- Bargains
- Christian Book Award Winners
- Bible Study Resources
- Wedding & Marriage
- VeggieTales
- Dove Awards Winners
- Keep Kids Safe Online
- Shop our Bulk Discounts
Vacation Bible School 2017
We understand Vacation Bible School is a major event in your church and that it is one of the greatest opportunities for outreach for all people, especially children and preschools. Even in our high tech environment, VBS continues to be one of the most fruitful special events in terms of both finding prospects and leading them to the Lord. We are here to help as you plan VBS 2017 in your church!
Does the responsibility for organizing your church's summer Vacation Bible School program fall on your shoulders? If this is your first year of and you have no idea where to begin, or maybe you have lots of experience and look forward to checking out the new 2017 VBS programs – we've got what you're looking for with information and samples for each 2017 VBS Program, along with an online Easy Order Form of all products for each 2017 VBS Program and a general planning overview.
Compare the various programs by looking at samples, videos and other information in our 2017 VBS Program Overview here. Program Overview
Use the "Easy Order Form" links above to access our VBS Program product lists for Easy Ordering. Access our general overview we put together to help you create an outline for your planning schedule this year. General Planning Overview
The Bible school publishers have released their new VBS curriculum and we'd like to help you choose the best VBS for your needs. Beyond all the information offered here on our website, we would be glad to assist you personally with any additional questions you may have. Call or visit us in store today!
We offer all the new 2017 VBS programs from...
Maker Fun Factory
Day 1
- Bible Point: God Made You.
- Key Verse: "Thank You for making me so wonderfully complex." (Psalm 139:14)
- Bible Story: God lovingly creates people. (Psalm 139; Genesis 1:26 – 2:4)
- Buddy: Decker the Decorator Crab
Day 2
- Bible Point: God is for you.
- Key Verse: "If God is for us, who can ever be against us?" (Romans 8:31)
- Bible Story: Rahab believes in God's mighty power. (Joshua 1-2)
- Buddy: Tina the Cathedral Termite
Day 3
- Bible Point: God is always with you.
- Key Verse: "The Lord Your God is with you wherever you go." (Joshua 1:9)
- Bible Story: Gideon is with God. (Judges 6:11 – 7:25)
- Buddy: Bubba the Humpback Whale
Day 4
- Bible Point: God will always love you.
- Key Verse: "Your unfailing love will last forever." (Psalm 89:2)
- Bible Story: Jesus dies and comes back to life. (Luke 22:66 – 24:12)
- Buddy: Skylar the Bowerbird
Day 5
- Bible Point: God made you for a reason.
- Key Verse: "For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord." (Jeremiah 29:11)
- Bible Story: Abigail brings peace. (1 Samuel 25)
- Buddy: Abbee the Bee
Stations include: Sound Wave Sing & Play, Tinker Tots Preschool, Bible Discovery, Imagination Station, Game Makers, Snack Factory, Kid Vid Cinema, and Funshop Finale.
Spark Imagination With Faith-Building Fun!
Imagine a world where curious kids become hands-on inventors who discover they're lovingly crafted by God. Spark creativity with interactive decoration and experiences. Maker Fun Factory Vacation Bible School transforms your church into a place buzzing with excitement!
A Typical Day At Maker Fun Factory VBS
Each day at Maker Fun Factory VBS, kids travel through field-tested rotations that reinforce relevant Bible Points and immerse kids in new adventures.
Experiencing God's Word
At Maker Fun Factory, one memorable Bible Point is reinforced throughout each station, each day—making it easy to apply long after VBS is over. Featuring Bible Memory Buddies that are makers, too!
Totally Wow Worship
One of the best parts about Maker Fun Factory VBS—award-winning music! Fun songs your kids will want to listen to again and again—sure to become a new family fave!
Passport To Peru
Day 1
- Bible Point: God gives us comfort.
- Key Verse: "He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others." (2 Corinthians 1:4)
- Bible Story: God is our good shepherd. (Psalm 23)
- Buddy: Lola the Lhama
Day 2
- Bible Point: God gives us patience.
- Key Verse: "Wait patiently for the Lord." (Psalm 27:14)
- Bible Story: Simeon and Anna wait for the Messiah. (Luke 2: 21-40)
- Buddy: Rico the Rooster
Day 3
- Bible Point: God gives us peace.
- Key Verse: "And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give." (John 14:27)
- Bible Story: Jesus calms the wind and waves. (Mark 4:35-41)
- Buddy: Senor Pescado the Fish
Day 4
- Bible Point: God gives us love.
- Key Verse: "The greatest of these is love." (1 Corinthians 13:13)
- Bible Story: Jesus dies and comes back to life. (Luke 22:66 – 24:12)
- Buddy: Charo the Guinea pig
Day 5
- Bible Point: God gives us joy.
- Key Verse: "The joy of the Lord is your strength!" (Nehemiah 8:10)
- Bible Story: Paul and Silas praise God while in prison. (Acts 16:16-40)
- Buddy: Paco the parrot
Opening Celebration
Prepare for the day's adventure by singing fun songs and meeting real kids from Peru during the KidVid video segment.
Bible Adventures
Experience each Bible story with the five senses.
Experience Peru
Find out surprising and authentic things that kids in Peru do and say.
Play Peru
Games and activities reinforce the Passport to Peru experience.
Incan Eats
Create and eat delicious authentic snacks.
Closing Celebration
Wrap up with music, drama, and a final KidVid video segment.
Little Lhamas Preschool
Preschoolers experience the excitement of Passport to Peru with stations in their own rotations in this top-notch preschool VBS program.
Not an expert on Peru? You don't have to be! Real kids from Peru share their culture—and Christ—through short video segments in Opening and Closing Celebration every day at Passport to Peru VBS!
Bible Content
At Passport to Peru, one memorable Bible Point is reinforced throughout each station, each day. Plus, all-new Bible Memory Buddies help kids remember what they learned long after VBS is over.
Take your whole congregation on a trip around the world without breaking the bank! Cross Culture Passport to Peru VBS 2017 transforms your church with vibrant green rainforests, intriciate Peruvian patterns, and brighly colored buildings.
One of the best parts about Cross Culture Passport to Peru VBS—award-winning music! Fun songs your kids will want to listen to again and again—sure to become a new family fave!
Day 1
- Bible Point: God's love is a gift.
- Key Verse: "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 6:23)
Day 2
- Bible Point: God's love changes us.
- Key Verse: "Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think." (Romans 12:2)
Day 3
- Bible Point: God's love is always with us.
- Key Verse: "And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God's love." (Romans 8:38)
Day 4
- Bible Point: God's love saves us.
- Key Verse: "But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners." (Romans 5:8)
Day 5
- Bible Point: God's love is worth sharing.
- Key Verse: "For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ." (Romans 1:16)
Extollo (Opening Celebration)
Start off with worship and celebration!
Family Time
Families gather together to map out the days activities.
Marketplace Shops
Craft cool projects and sample unique treats.
One of the best parts about Holy Land Adventure Rome VBS—fun faith-filled songs your kids will want to sing again and again!
The Underground Church
Meet Paul and tiptoe past Roman guards to visit him in the underground church.
Apprenticeship Games
Play high-energy games that reinforce the daily Bible Point.
Family Time
Connect Family experiences in Rome to modern-day lives at home!
Closing Celebration
Wrap-up the day with worship!
Camp Out Weekend
Theme: Camp Out: Getting S'more of Jesus
Theme Verse: Jesus said, "I am the light of the world." (John 8:12)
Bible Point: Jesus is the light.
Session 1 Bible Story: Jesus' life showed God's love. (John 1: 3-9; Luke 17:11-19; John 13:1-17)
Session 2 Bible Story: Jesus dies and comes back to life. (Luke 23:1-24:12)
Buddy: Forrest the bear
Each day includes:
- Music & More: Start the day together, singing a fun mix of classic worship songs and brand-new praise songs.
- Bible Exploration: Kids experience the Bible in active, hands-on ways, and then circle up with their Cabin Crews for thought-provoking discussions.
- Projects-With-A-Purpose: Kids shine Jesus' light by making special gifts for others in their church, community, and the world.
- Wilderness Games: Kids run, jump, and even splash through games that connect with the daily Bible verse.
- Closing Campfire: Dramatic and crowd-involving activities help everyone remember and apply each day's Bible Point and Bible verse.
- Sunday Celebration: This 20-minute Sunday Celebration gets the whole congregation involved.
Mighty Fortress
Theme of the Week: Mighty Fortress: In Jesus, the Victory is Won!
Key Bible Verses: "Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Corinthians 15:57.
Day 1
- Bible Story: God's Might tumbles Jericho's Walls (Joshua 6:1-20)
- Lesson Objective: Shout! God is mighty! The victory is won!
- Bible Verse: "Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Corinthians 15:57
Day 2
- Bible Story: God Delivers King Hezekiah's Kingdom (2 Kings 18-19)
- Lesson Objective: Fear not! The victory is won!
- Bible Verse: "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." Psalm 46:1
Day 3
- Bible Story: God's Word Reforms King Josiah (2 Kings 22:1 – 23:30)
- Lesson Objective: God's Word is true and powerful! The victory is won!
- Bible Verse: "Every word of God proves true; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him." Proverbs 30:5
Day 4
- Bible Story: King Jesus Enters Jerusalem (Luke 19:28-40)
- Lesson Objective: Jesus comes to save! The victory is won!
- Bible Verse: "Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is He." Zechariah 9:9
Day 5
- Bible Story: Jesus Wins the Victory (Luke 23:1 – 24:12)
- Lesson Objective: Jesus is our Savior King! The victory is won!
- Bible Verse: "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!" Revelation 4:8
Hero Central
Main Theme: Discover Your Strength in God!
Theme Bible Verse: "Do good! Seek peace and go after it!" — Psalm 34:14b, CEB.
Session 1
- Bible Story: Samuel Anoints David (1 Samuel 16:1-12)
- Hero Code: God's heroes have heart.
Session 2
- Bible Story: Abigail Saves the Day (1 Samuel 25)
- Hero Code: God's heroes have courage.
Session 3
- Bible Story: Jesus Goes to the Temple (Luke 2:41-52)
- Hero Code: God's heroes have wisdom.
Session 4
- Bible Story: Beatitudes (Matthew 4:23 – 5:12)
- Hero Code: God's heroes have hope.
Session 5
- Bible Story: Pentecost (Acts 2:1-41)
- Hero Code: God's heroes have power.
Stations include: Science, Snack, Craft, Recreation, Music and Mission.
Super God!
Super God! Super Me! Super-Possibility! will teach participants that the super power given to us by Jesus Christ is greater than any power—imagined or in existence! With Super God! Super Me! Super-Possibility! participants will: Hear that there is no greater strength than God's super power within! Imagine their own super-possibilities! Have the opportunity to choose Jesus' super love!
Lesson 1
Belt of Truth (Ephesians 67:10-17)
Lesson 2
Breastplate of Justice (Exodus 2:1-9)
Lesson 3
Shield of Faith (Daniel 1:3-8, 14-17)
Lesson 4
Helmet of Salvation (Luke 2:41-51)
Lesson 5
Shoes of the Gospel of Peace (1 John 5:1-5)
If this is your first year coordinating your Vacation Bible School Program, CONGRATULATIONS! You've got many of tasks ahead of you but the reward at the end will be more than worth it.
We have put together a general overview to help you create an outline for your planning schedule this year. Remember that you were specially chosen to play this role and we know you can do it!
VBS Planning Outline & Timeline
6-9 Months before your VBS is the time to start putting Vacation Bible School on your radar. You will want to establish the foundations of your program. Also consider including Preschoolers (2-5 year olds) in your VBS. You may want to run a separate preschool program for your little ones (same hours). The preschoolers can join the other children for your opening and then the younger children can have their own learning centers, games and age-appropriate crafts for the rest of the morning.
- Begin praying for your VBS program. You may want to organize a prayer team.
- Choose your dates and time for you VBS. Put them on the church calendar early.
- Choose a VBS Director.
- Choose a VBS Theme and Purchase your VBS Starter kit so you can begin planning.
Several Months (3-6) before your VBS get your VBS leadership team together to estimate your attendance and set dates for the program. Go ahead and publicize the dates to your congregation and to our bookstore so you can get plenty of volunteers and find out how to get the word out in the community. At this point start looking at what materials you will need for your VBS program and order your VBS materials before they are sold out, they do go quickly. Having your team brainstorm together now helps you understand which things that will need longer preparation time, put together and distribute teacher materials and begin compiling registration lists.
- Set a budget for your VBS program
- Recruit key leaders – Music, Snacks, Games, Bible story teacher.
- Plan publicity for your VBS – community outreach could include signage, door to door flyers, radio spots.
- Put together a list of supplies you'll need.
- Order all of your publicity, decorating, leaders manuals and teaching supplies.
Setting Goals: Staff should give thought to establishing the goals of the VBS program:
- What objectives should be met for the program to be considered successful?
- Who do you expect to participate — children at what ages; youth; family units?
- Is God calling you to reach out in new ways to a new segment of the community?
- Are you planning a week to enrich the church children's understanding of the Bible? Or is it to reach out to new people in and fun and inspiring way?
- Is the program to be an outreach to the community?
A couple of months (2-3) before your VBS you will want to start distributing registration forms, create daily schedules for VBS Week, start your publicity to the congregation and community, fill all the teaching staff positions and start training your team! Make sure you have the contact information – phone numbers, email addresses and names – of the people that will be teaching and anyone who volunteers to create things.
- Plan and schedule a VBS staff training meeting to be held 4-6 weeks prior to VBS.
- Begin recruiting additional leaders and support staff.
- Explore your church facilities to determine what areas you will need.
- Estimate your VBS enrollment. Use figures from Sunday school or last year�s VBS.
- Order student supplies if you have not already done so.
As you Recruit, look for leaders and teachers with the following qualifications:
- Dedicated Christians who seek to live for Christ daily, who study God's word, and who know the plan of salvation – suitable role models for children
- People tuned in to kids, able to build upon their natural interests and who will enjoy sharing in the children's joy of discovery
- Warm, outgoing, having a genuine love and sensitivity for children, understanding them in terms of their physical, mental, and emotional development, and their spiritual needs
- One who will appreciate and seek to follow God's command to teach children, demonstrating this by being reliable and disciplined to prepare for each day of VBS
About a month (4-6 weeks) before your VBS continue to maintain your list of registered students and stay alert to any staffing adjustments needed as you finish up the details of the schedule for your VBS Week. Follow-up with any items you have outstanding and touch base with your VBS teachers to make sure they have what they need for that week.
- Begin pre-registration.
- Hold the scheduled VBS staff training meeting.
- Meet with key leaders.
- Check your registration weekly and order any extra supplies you may need. Remember these item sell out fast.
One week before VBS will begin your final setup up before the big event – decorations, registration tables, signs, sorting craft and game supplies to the right rooms. Now you should run a check of student count versus your materials. Remember you will have last minute people show up. Provide teachers with current information about their classes including rosters and prepare any packets you will provide to the parents. Assign a place and time for all VBS staff to meet prior to each session for prayer.
The Day before your VBS begins run a final check of supplies (are the pencils sharpened?) and rooms. Then take a breath and start praying for all the kids, families and volunteers that will be involved with your VBS this week.
First Day of VBS make sure you arrive early — take time for more prayer with your teams and even in the stress remember to celebrate the opportunities to witness. Especially early in the week, watch for rough spots needing adjustment the next day and after the children leave, brief staff meeting to catch loose ends. And don't forget to take lots of pictures! Each day, continue to pray for God to move in the hearts of your children. Things that should be modified for next year, make note of in a place you will remember to pass it on the next year. And remember to have fun!
After you wrap up Evaluation: It's a good idea to collect evaluations and suggestions from the staff for future kids events at the church. Before your VBS ends, Have thank you notes and evaluation forms ready for your helpers. Make sure you display photographs for congregation and get a list to the Kids Church teachers, especially for families that came and are not already affiliated with the church so they can remember them when they show up for regular services. Be sure to let your volunteers know how much they helped to make VBS 2017 the best ever. While they're still excited about the great things that happened during VBS, ask if they would be willing to consider being a part of the team next year. (Just to get an idea, not for a firm commitment.) Then follow up just as soon as you set the next date to have them start praying about volunteering for your next VBS program.
If you need help, we have a great staff ready to serve you both online and in the store. You can find other supplies, like prices for games or attendance and Bibles for new believers in our stores as well.
We know you will have a great 2017 Vacation Bible School experience!


text:
"Pie" reviewed by Harin Ok on June 1, 2013
Book Title:
What is the story about?/What happened in the story?:
Book, "Pie" was good as an actual pie! It's genres were mystery, family, and friendship. At the end of the story, Weeks surprised me by how the main characters(Alice and Charlie) solved the mystery. What I also liked about this book was at the end of each chapter, Weeks included many different pie recipes. It was clever of her.
Rate Your Read:
(1 vote)

subset: commoncrawl


text:
An analysis by The Canadian Press reveals that Premier Pauline Marois's minority PQ fell short in 13 of the province's 125 electoral districts by fewer than five percentage points in September 2012.
These near-miss ridings are scattered across southern Quebec, with six concentrated on the edges of Montreal and one within city limits. Among the others, one is found in the western Quebec area of Outaouais and another near Quebec City, while the province's southeastern corner and its central Mauricie region each have two.
Demographically, all but two of the ridings share a common feature: they are home to big francophone communities. Eleven of them have francophone populations larger than the provincewide average of 84 per cent.
The first days of the campaign, which will send Quebecers to the polls April 7, highlighted the degree to which the PQ offensive will play out on a very limited section of the chessboard.
The party needs to win nine more seats than the 54 it captured in 2012 to deliver Marois a majority government, which means even an uptick in PQ support in some of these areas could be the difference maker.
Recent polls have suggested the PQ's popularity has climbed to within striking distance of a majority, while the rival Liberals and Coalition, who hold these potential swing districts, have lost ground.
Shortly after Wednesday's election call, Marois's campaign made a beeline toward the Mauricie, roughly halfway between Montreal and Quebec City. In 2012, the official Opposition Liberals narrowly won the local ridings of Maskinonge and Trois-Rivieres.
On Day 2, she held an event in the crucial Montreal district of Verdun, where the PQ has named star candidate Lorraine Pintal, director of one of the city's most prestigious theatres.
Then on Friday, Marois's campaign rolled into the critical outer suburbs north of Montreal, known as la couronne nord, where she named another star contestant in the Groulx riding: former student protest leader Martine Desjardins.
In 2012, the PQ was beaten out in most of the closely fought Montreal-area ridings by the third-place Coalition party.
The PQ has also lined up notable hopefuls in other tight ridings, including former journalist Alexis Deschenes in Trois-Rivieres and ex-Bloc Quebecois MP Pierre Paquette, who will try to beat Coalition leader Francois Legault in L'Assomption, north of Montreal.
To win all of these key districts, the PQ will have to beat eight Liberal and five Coalition incumbents.
The PQ has made efforts since the last election to woo supporters from its adversaries with the help of its controversial secularism charter. The proposal calls for a ban on public employees from wearing conspicuous religious symbols at work.
Polls have suggested the charter, which has drawn criticism from PQ opponents, is popular among voters in the province's outlying areas.
The PQ could also enjoy an added advantage this spring in two of these 13 enticing districts.
The Liberal-held riding of Megantic, the scene of last summer's devastating train derailment, could be in play thanks to local praise for Marois following her quick response to the disaster.
Meanwhile, in the Saint-Jerome riding north of Montreal, the Coalition's star incumbent, Jacques Duchesneau, well-known as an anti-corruption crusader, declined to seek re-election.
Before she launched the campaign, Marois also tried to till the ground in potentially pivotal areas such as the Mauricie.
She announced 85 pre-election investments there last month worth millions of dollars. Opponents mocked her for travelling the region in a helicopter during the spending spree, prompting Coalition MNA Christian Dube to say she was playing "Santa Claus."
One of Marois' main competitors, Liberal Leader Philippe Couillard, also made an early campaign stop Thursday in the Mauricie battleground. The Liberals, meanwhile, are trying to hang onto Maskinonge, which they won in a tight three-way race in 2012.
But as the PQ advances on these 13 tantalizing electoral targets, it will also be looking over its shoulder.
The party's potential gains could be offset in eight ridings where it won 2012 squeakers by fewer than five percentage points. The party edged the Coalition in seven of those districts and beat the Liberals in the other one.
Follow @AndyBlatchford on Twitter


text:
You have no items in your shopping cart.
Subscribe to RSS Feed
A to B
Ride longer, faster, better. Tools, gadgets, and utilities for aiding your daily commute. License plate holders, motorcycle covers, locks, alarms, cruise controls, lights, horns, studs, and seat cushions. When in doubt... Ride.
There are no products matching the selectionThis is a custom CMS block displayed if category is empty.
You can replace it with any custom content.


text:
A jury has found Halifax gangster Jimmy Melvin Jr. guilty on charges of attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
Melvin, 35, stood trial in Nova Scotia Supreme Court in Halifax on allegations of plotting to kill Terry Marriott Jr. in December 2008.
The jury deliberated for about two hours Wednesday and 90 minutes Thursday before returning with the guilty verdicts.
Melvin fired lawyer Patrick MacEwen partway through the trial and ended up representing himself after Justice Peter Rosinski denied his application for a mistrial.
The judge appointed lawyer Peter Kidston as amicus curiae, or "a friend of the court," to make sure Melvin got a fair trial.
Melvin told the court Thursday he would like to retain a lawyer for sentencing.
He will return to court Tuesday, possibly to set dates for a sentencing hearing.
Rosinski said he has no control over where corrections officials decide to hold Melvin but said he will recommend that he be housed at the Dartmouth jail for now so he can arrange new legal counsel.
Marriott was shot to death in February 2009. Melvin stood trial last spring on a charge of first-degree murder but was acquitted.
Crown attorney Rick Woodburn said he and colleagues Christine Driscoll and Sean McCarroll believed they had a stronger case at this trial.
"The jury took the time they needed in order to come up with a just verdict," Woodburn said.
"They went (to a hotel) overnight, most likely to clarify their thoughts and come in fresh this morning. When they did, they had an opportunity to review the evidence again and came to the verdict they did."
Nadine Marriott, Terry's widow, left the courtroom in tears after the jury foreman announced the verdicts Thursday morning.
She thanked prosecutors and investigators but had no comment for media before leaving the courthouse.
"The Marriott family is happy with the verdict and is awaiting the sentencing phase," Woodburn said.
"They've been very patient and good to deal with during the process," Driscoll added.
The notorious Melvin has spent much of his life behind bars. He has 45 previous adult convictions in Nova Scotia and others in New Brunswick, and has numerous charges of assaulting jail guards still before the courts.
"We'll move to the sentencing phase now," Woodburn said. "We'll concentrate on what we believe is a fair and just sentence given all the circumstances in this case and Mr. Melvin's record."
He would not say whether the Crown is considering applying to have Melvin declared a dangerous offender and imprisoned indefinitely.
At trial, the Crown alleged that Melvin and Jason Hallett got a drive from Regan Henneberry to Derek MacPhee's house in Harrietsfield on the night of Dec. 2, 2008, with the intent of murdering Marriott, who was there partying.
Melvin and Hallett allegedly had two loaded guns — a handgun and a Ruger Mini-14 semi-automatic, assault-style rifle — with them in the vehicle.
Henneberry testified that he stopped and turned the vehicle around after seeing police cars at MacPhee's house. MacPhee had called police after Henneberry allegedly tipped him off about Melvin's plan to kill Marriott.
Melvin did not call any evidence or make closing arguments.
In his instructions to the jury, the judge said it could find Melvin guilty of the offences even though no shots were fired at Marriott that evening.
To convict Melvin of attempted murder, Rosinski said, jurors must be satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that he intended to kill Marriott and that his conduct went beyond mere preparations.
The judge said that in order to find Melvin guilty on the other charge, the jury had to be convinced that there was a conspiracy between two or more people, that the purpose of the conspiracy was to kill Marriott, and that Melvin was a member of the conspiracy.
Hallett admitted on the stand that he received immunity and money in exchange for testifying against Melvin. Henneberry is scheduled to go to trial at the end of the month but told the court he hopes his charges will be dropped.
In conversations outside court during the trial, Melvin's supporters questioned the fairness of the proceedings and said he planned to file an appeal if convicted.


text:
Get Independent Mortgage Advice and the Best Mortgage Deals Nationwide
Compare mortgage rates from all the mortgage lenders offering mortgage deals in the UK and find the cheapest mortgages that suit your circumstances in minutes. Our best mortgage comparison makes finding the best mortgages for your home easy whether you're looking for a repayment mortgage or an interest only mortgage deal.
A mortgage is the largest financial commitment that the majority of us will ever take on in our lifetime, so before you do you need to make sure that you are getting the best advice available based on your circumstances.
If you just speak to your own bank or building society they can only advise on and sell their own products – there may be a much better deal available to you elsewhere in the market place.
An independent mortgage adviser is not tied to any one bank or mortgage lender so they can source the market place to find you the best deal available based on your individual circumstances.
At Abbey Broadway we can put you in touch with a fully regulated independent adviser who covers your local area for a free, no obligation discussion about your requirements to help find you the best mortgage deal available to meet your needs.
We can help with:
- Remortgage for a better rate or to save money
- Moving home
- Raise funds for Home improvements, Debt consolidation or any other purpose
- First time buyer Mortgages
- Buy to let Mortgages & Investment properties
- Right to buy
- Self Employed Mortgages
Think carefully before securing other debts against your home.
Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage or any other debt secured on it.
Nationwide Mortgage Brokers covering the whole of the UK
Aberdeen | St Albans | Birmingham | Bath | Blackburn | Bradford | Bournemouth | Bolton | Brighton | Bromley | Bristol | Carlisle | Cambridge | Cardiff | Chester | Chelmsford | Colchester | Croydon | Canterbury | Coventry | Crewe | Dartford | Dundee | Derby | Dumfries | Darlington | Doncaster | Dorchester | Dudley | Edinburgh | Enfield | Exeter | Falkirk | Fylde | Glasgow | Gloucester | Guildford | Guernsey | Harrow | Huddersfield | Harrogate | Hemel Hemstead | Hereford | Hull | Halifax | Ilford | Isle of Man | Ipswich | Inverness | Kilmarnock | Kingston | Kirkwall | Kilkardy | London | Liverpool | Lancaster | Llandrinod | Leicester | Llandudno | Lincoln | Leeds | Luton | Manchester | Medway | Milton Keynes | Motherwell | Newcastle | Nottingham | Northampton | Newport | Norwich | Oldham | Oxford | Paisley | Peterborough | Perth | Plymouth | Portsmouth | Preston | Reading | Redhill | Romford | Rotherham | Sheffield | Swansea | Stevenage | Stockport | Slough | Sutton | Swindon | Southampton | Salisbury | Sunderland | Southend | Stoke on Trent | Shrewsbury | Taunton | Galashields | Telford | Tonbridge | Torquay | Truro | Teeside | Twickenham | Uxbridge | Warrington | Watford | Wakefield | Wigan | Worcester | Walsall | Wolverhampton | York |
We do not provide any financial advice relating to mortgages or other products. Any commentary on this site are personal views about generic mortgage related topics and are not financial advice. The product information is obtained from independent sources and rates may vary depending on your circumstances. We provide this service free of charge but may receive commission or a payment from brokers and intermediaries for introductions. Should you choose to proceed, our partners may charge you fees for their services and the amount may depend upon your circumstances.
| UK Mortgage Brokers | Mortgage Fees Nationwide | Mortgage Quotes Nationwide | Nationwide Mortgage Advisors | Nationwide Financial Advisers | Mortgage Fees and quotes | Mortgage calculators | House Buying in the UK | Best Mortgage deals in the UK | Mortgage Comparison Nationwide | Buy to Let Mortgage | First Time Mortgage | Self Employed Mortgage | Remortgage |


text: Technoweld Alloys India Private Limited Import Export Data - Import Export Company Technoweld Alloys India Private Limited Export Import Data Technoweld Alloys India Private Limited, is a premier company that exports and imports goods from countries including , Australia and host of other countries. Technoweld Alloys India Private Limited, is a premier company that exports and imports goods from countries including , Australia and host of other countries. Import ShipmentsTechnoweld Alloys India Private Limited is also a leading importer of WELDING MACHINE DC600 220/380/440 (115/42V AUX), having HS Codes 84682010. The company primarily imports products to India from Australia and mainly receives the consignments at Madras Sea.DateHS CodeProduct Imported India PortForeign CountryForeign Port QuantityUnit30-09-200484682010WELDING MACHINE DC600 220/380/440 (115/42V AUX)Madras SeaAustraliaNot Available2Nos Sample Data Download * The above data is procured from the custom department of Indian Ports hence is highly reliable and authentic * The above pages is refreshed and updated on daily basis the current page was refreshed on Friday, August 17, 2018 Top Similar Importers:Shreeyash Impex Ador Fontech Limited Reliable International Aditya Weldaid P Ltd Mannka Electricals Pvtltd Warpp Engineers Stewarts And Lloyds Of India Li Soni Dies Makers Padmini Impex P Limited Mpk Machine Tools Lumax Samlip Industries Ltd G15 Man Industries India Ltd Pioneer Intertrade Grobest Feeds Corporation Ind Cochin Shipyard Limited Kobian Ecs India Pvt Ltd Krebsoge Excel Pvtltd Siddhambe General Stores Jaya Hind Sciaky Ltd Spartan Enginnering Company11new Pcm Cement Concrete P Ltd Polycab Industries Daman Elca Carbone Lorraine Pvt Ltd Shriram Pistons Rings Ltd Araco Automotive India P Ltd Browse by Products : ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ Browse by Companies : A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Latest Export Import News DateSubject 17-08-2018Falling rupee a double-edged sword for India, warn analysts 17-08-2018Rupee crash may hold down plans of 4G extension by telecom companies 17-08-2018Rupee jitters bring double whammy for steel sector 17-08-2018Exporters see short-term gain in rupee slide but buyers may spoil party 16-08-2018Amazon's real rival in India won't be Walmart but this company, once new e-commerce policy is in pla 16-08-2018PM Narendra Modi's Independence Day Speech: From 'Fragile Five' to 'Running Elephant' 16-08-2018India to test gas-fired plants as 'peakers' to smooth power grid 16-08-2018Market Movers: Gold, oil prices down, dollar at 13-month peak & Modi sets tone for 2019 elections 16-08-2018Govt to test underutilized natural gas-fired power plants as 'peakers' to even out supply fluctuatio 14-08-2018Give natural rubber farm tag, not industrial product: Growers to Centre Get a Technoweld Alloys India Private Limited Import Export Data Sample Report Which service(s) are you interested in? Export Data Import Data Both Buyers Suppliers Both OR Exim Help + =


text:
Goals within three minutes of each other from Hulk and Sergei Semak as the match in a sub-zero Petrovsky Stadium entered the final quarter put a significant dent in Liverpool's ambitions.
Carragher, a veteran of 149 European outings, felt the side showed a lack of experience - despite him, Steven Gerrard, Lucas Leiva, Martin Skrtel and Jose Reina having made 435 combined appearances in continental competition.
"It was frustrating because up until they scored it had probably been a perfect European night in the way we dealt with the onslaught in the first half and creating a few chances," he said.
"Second half we looked in control but that's European football, we had a few experienced lads and some young lads and you have to learn but you have to learn quickly - especially at this level.
"That is a typical European night because you think you are in control and - bang - you are 2-0 down with a mountain to climb.
"But it is a mountain the club have climbed in the past and we have to look to do again in a week's time.
"It was a disappointing night but we have a week to dust ourselves down and try to come back and if we could do it it would be a great European night."
Top scorer Luis Suarez missed a number of chances, with manager Brendan Rodgers admitting he could have had a hat-trick in the first half, but Carragher said the Uruguay international should not be held responsible for the result.
"Everyone creates chances - we never put them in - but you can't be conceding goals like that, especially at that time of the game in the 70th minute when you have everything under control," added the centre-back, who will retire at the end of this season.
"There is no point in looking at the strikers, we have to look at ourselves as a team defensively in that situation.
"The first one is a great goal to be fair but you can always defend things better but the second one is a poor goal all round for us.
"They are big favourites now, of course they are, but it will make for a good atmosphere at Anfield next week and if we can get that first goal the place will be bouncing."
Rodgers had built up the week, which began with defeat at home to West Brom and ends on Sunday with the visit of his former club Swansea, as a significant one.
But Carragher said they could not afford to focus on isolated sections of the season.
"It is massively important we get something from Sunday's game but it doesn't matter if it's this week, last week - every week is a massive week for Liverpool," said the 35-year-old as Liverpool head into the weekend looking to end a run of five matches without a win.
"It could have been a great week with results at City and Arsenal (both 2-2 draws which probably deserved better in the preceding week) but this is the flip side of it.
"We have to get out of this little mini-slump we are in very quickly.
"Inconsistency has been a problem for us not just this season - it's not Liverpool's problem this season or Brendan Rodgers' problem - it's been a problem for three or four years.
"That is down to ourselves, the manager and coaching staff to get ourselves out of it because it's been going on a while now."


text:
Organic Cotton Jersey Duvet Cover
$99.00 - $159.00
Overview & Details
- Certified organic cotton jersey bedding in five solid colors.
- Certified to meet Global Organic Textile Standards (GOTS).
- Collection includes a flat sheet, fitted sheet, pillowcases, comforter cover and sham.
- Machine wash.
- Imported, Pakistan.
- Exclusively ours.
The softest jersey in 100% certified organic cotton. Colors have been dyed and finished according to strict Oeko-Tex® standards. The natural jersey is from the same organic cotton, but its appearance is unchanged by either bleach or dyes. Machine wash. Imported.
Our organic sheets are available exclusively at The Company Store® – offering high-quality bedding you can feel good about, since 1911.


text:
Kcal 110 Fat 7.0g Fat(sats) 3.3g Carbs 10.1g (per finger)
Back in January Ferrero announced the reformulation of their Kinder White bar with following statement to the trade - "The new improved recipe delivers the delicious intensity associated with white chocolate, plus a more creamy texture which melts smoothly in the mouth." Excited at the prospective changes, I today found one of the new formula bars on sale in my local Sainsbury's supermarket ... boy was I shocked at what I found!
Not only was the bar reduced in size down to 39.0g, but it soon became apparent that this reformulation in actual fact just meant an increase in the proportion of vegetable fat in the recipe. The thinness of the chocolate layer meant there was no detectable difference mouth feel wise - I don't get how it was supposed to established anyway given the outer dusting of cocoa was always going to add a relative coarseness. The only actual difference between the old and new bar that I perceived was that the chocolate did came across as a touch sweeter and sugar based in it's flavours.
Ferrero aren't the first, and neither will they be the last to both decrease the size of their products or increase the vegetable fat proportions. What gets me is that they have the cheek to position these changes as being driven by consumer demand. Sorry Ferrero but thats just cheap!
----- Kcal 120 Fat 7.6g Carbs 11.3g (per 21.5g finger)
Those of you who take an active interest in the confectionery market will be aware that a few weeks ago Ferrero announced they would be launching a 'white chocolate' version of the Kinder Bueno bar for the UK market...well being the impatient man I am I couldn't bear to wait and Ive been lucky enough to get my hands on one of these bars already. See above for proof ;)
Almost identically to the original bueno the bar comes in the form of two 21.5g fingers each with four sections.
Each finger is coated in what Kinder describe as 'chocolate meringue dust' - its a light brown coloured dust (like hot chocolate powder) that I will admit makes the bar look exceedingly good. This is where my positive things to say about this aspect of the bar run out though...this 'meringue' dust offers very very little in flavour and in all honest just causes one hell of a mess when you break the bar apart. When snapping the individual sections the brown powder just fell from the bar, making not only a mess of my fingers but also managing to get on my desk and clothes...not good. I understand its inclusion for its aesthetic appeal but its more of annoyance than anything and that's why the bars appearance score isn't good.
The white chocolate element is I'm sure what most of you are interested and for your information its not bad. It has an extremely similar texture to the chocolate on the original Bueno - rather smooth but verging on having a waxy texture that doesn't melt too well in the mouth. The actual flavour of the white chocolate isn't the strongest but has a slight vanilla hint which is quite pleasant. Most peoples complaints with white chocolate stem from the tendency for it to become sickly due to its generally high sugar content; this bar avoids this issue and its flavour although not the strongest is enjoyable.
The hazelnut creme and wafer elements are identical to what you find in the original Bueno. The wafer is pretty nondescript - pleasant enough but not going to set anyones world alight...it does its job competently but little else. The hazelnut creme is a different story altogether - its smooth, its creamy, in a word its wonderful and utterly indulgent experience.
Overall this latest offering from Ferrero is worth trying but far from being anything overly spectacular. The original elements that are kept from the Bueno are still really quite good - in terms of a creme filling not much else on the market gets near the Hazelnut centre...its really very good. The new elements this bar introduces are varying in terms of success. The meringue chocolate dust is not the best idea - visually impressive but practically not so; its unavoidably messy and basically just a real nuisance. The white chocolate element itself is an idea that is implemented with caution - its almost identical in texture to the original bar and a slight vanilla hint aside offers not too much differentiation in taste - its hardly poorly done but its a little unspectacular.
When this bar makes it to market here I would recommend you give it a go; I can see this being hugely popular due to the success of the Milk Chocolate Bueno - its not to far different from the original so if your a big fan I see no reason why you wont enjoy this white chocolate variant.
7.5 out of 10


text:
{{search.results.count}} results {{searchFilter()}} {{searchQuery()}}
{{search.results.count}} results {{searchFilter()}} {{searchQuery()}}
Enter a search term such as "mobile analytics" or browse our content using the filters above.
That's not only a poor Scrabble score but we also couldn't find any results matching
Check your spelling or try broadening your search.
This service is currently undergoing maintenance.
Please try again later.
WHSmith took its entire website offline yesterday after it found that pornographic eBooks were available through its Kobo e-reader.
Customers trying to access WHSmith.co.uk are greeted with a holding page which states that the retailer is "disgusted by these particular titles" and is taking immediate steps to have them removed.
While this process is on-going the site has been taken offline 'to best protect our customers and the public'. It will come back online once all self-published eBooks have been removed and WHSmith's is sure that people can no longer access the material.
There was understandable anger that shoppers were exposed to explicit content when they typed 'daddy' into its on-site search tool, however it does seem something of an over-reaction to take its website offline in order to fix the problem.
Amazon and Waterstones were also found to be stocking similar titles, and while they've expressed shock that the situation has occurred they haven't taken the same drastic steps as WHSmith.
At a time when many companies are undergoing a period of digital transformation to try and modernise their business processes, WHSmith's actions suggest that it still has very little understanding of ecommerce and digital marketing.
I spoke to a couple of digital experts to find out more about how taking the site offline will impact WHSmith and what it says about the company's attitude towards ecommerce.
I'll also write a follow up post tomorrow looking at the wider implications of this for WHSmith's ecommerce platform...
How will this impact WHSmith's SEO?
Stephen Croome, founder of First Conversion:
There will not be much in the way of impact. As @willwynne suggested, it will acquire a number of links from this. The links it receives from national and international press will far outweigh any short-term negatives.
Ironically it is probably the best PR WHSmith could have had before Christmas - now it has a ton of fresh high quality links and a lot of brand mentions.
Dan Barker, E-business consultant:
It's worth keeping in mind through this that:
- This is the start of WHSmith's busy period - its Christmas sales begin to ramp up in September.
- This is the big period for books. Last Thursday is what's known as 'Super Thursday' in the book trade, where all of the publishers put out their biggest books (more than 1,500 were released in the UK last Thursday).
Firstly, it's very good that WHSmith has shown it's serious about fixing the issue as the content was truly, truly dreadful, and it needed to fix it quickly.
It's also worth noting up front that it's easy to miss the point here and say "well it had to protect its customers", or "it had to protect the company reputation", or "perhaps the CMS didn't allow the team to fix it".
All of those are obstacles that could have been overcome and keeping the site live would have allowed WHSmith to protect its reputation and their customers far better.
From an SEO point of view - ignoring the fact that there were much better options than pulling the entire site down – WHSmith has sort of done the right thing at a very granular tactical level. It has set up a 503 'temporarily unavailable' status on the holding page and all of the original pages have been replaced with the holding message at their original URL, without redirecting them elsewhere.
From that point of view, when the holding page is removed, things should go back to normal.
Of key importance is how long the site is down. Once the site has been unavailable for a long period, search engines will begin to remove pages from search results.
The brand itself should bounce back fairly quickly for that, but generic terms are much more competitive, and likely to be a little slower. Especially as search engines will need to recrawl the site to find out that the pages are back.
Taking the site offline also means the retailer has no means to control what appeared if anyone searched 'wh smith' in search engines. Pretty bad when you consider this was what you saw if you did that:
How should WHSmith have dealt with the problem?
Stephen Croome:
WHSmith could have avoided this whole scenario by building its systems and processes better in the first place and by paying more attention to what it is doing and assigning appropriate digitally literate resources to look after the site.
Firstly, when WHSmith built the site it should have checked how porn and other taboo words surfaced.
We did this for Borders when we built the site and changed the book-surfacing algorithm to push taboo and porn stuff out of search results, in a similar manner to how Google deals with porn site queries - no suggestions, only show the site or book if the exact name is searched for.
Secondly, it looks like WHSmith relies on the tags from incoming feeds to power page results, a system that leaves you wide open to exactly this kind of situation when titles are mistagged and when you rely on third parties to do your tagging.
Thirdly, as these books come in via a feed from a publisher, it should be able to cut the feed if necessary and manually remove the titles without taking down the entire site.
Fourthly, this should have been flagged up immediately to the people who are marketing this site and looking after its analytics and SEO.
The Daily Mail reported finding 60 questionable titles. These should be easy to just manually remove from the site.
Dan Barker:
WHSmith should of course have pulled down all offensive content as soon as humanly possible. There was some truly awful stuff and having missed it up until the point where customers noticed - it needed to react quickly.
It may have been that was not straightforward in its CMS. If that's the case, WHSmith could have used htaccess files, redirects, or used another system to simply block access to the offensive content.
If that was a pain, it could even have cheated using an A/B test tool, or some other system to suppress nasty content at the point someone tried to view it. Finally, if WHSmith did feel it insurmountable, it could have pulled the Kobo content temporarily, even wiped the Kobo feed temporarily if required, and left the rest.
From a purely business perspective, WHSmith is losing tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands per day by pulling the site down.
If it is willing to take that kind of financial hit, please keep the site live and donate profits to rape crisis centres or sexual abuse support services or offer the equivalent in Christmas gifts to childrens homes/hospitals. It's actually quite depressing to think of the positive difference it could have made there, instead of pouring the money into a black hole by shutting up shop.
What does this say about WHSmith's understanding of ecommerce and digital marketing?
Stephen Croome:
The CEO Stephen Clarke used to be head of marketing for WHSmith and Argos, which just goes to show that traditional marketers should not be allowed to run bricks-and-mortar companies which need to transition to digital.
He is advocating opening new outlets in railway stations and putting post offices in his stores. This just shows that his focus is on short-term cash and ignores the long-term need to become a truly digital company.
As a business, WHSmith is not focused on digital. It is a dinosaur of a website with a digital strategy that looks like the ugly stepsister to Amazon's Cinderella.
Dan Barker:
It feels like one of those things where this has come down from the top, so it probably doesn't say a huge amount about the team who actually handle the website and online marketing.
If WHSmith had no mechanism for easily pulling these products, it says something about the company's investment in tools and resources there.
It's fairly rare now that a site doesn't have a decent level of control over its own stock, even when there are marketplace/third party integrations.
It may say something about the size of WHSmith's ecommerce team if it was simply a resource issue that this wasn't spotted earlier and that a solution couldn't be found when the problem was flagged up by third parties.
But the biggest issue seems to be with the company's leadership and strategic focus - perhaps WHSmith's doesn't have anyone high up in the organisation that understands how the web works and ecommerce works. Perhaps then this would have been spotted earlier and fixed without taking the site offline.
WHSmith splits its business into 'Travel' (train stations, airports, etc.) and 'High Street', both in terms of strategy and in terms of its financial reporting.
In other words, there's no strategic importance placed online, and WHSmith may still see it as a minor part of the business. A big shame, as it is in a great position to push that and to use it to bolster the travel and high street businesses.
And quite strange too - as it seemed to be doing some more forward-thinking things with the Kobo partnership, and with FunkyPigeon which it owns.
Comments (18)
WHSmith's online business must be a loss leader anyhow, they are an archaic business which would have gone the same way as Woolworth's if it had not been for their dominance of market in train stations and service stations.
It is a shame, as they are a great British brand name which lacks guidance.
One thing neither of the commentators have picked up on is the incredibly poorly written English in the statement. There's at least one typo and the grammar is terrible. But the lack of understanding of digital is particularly evident by the fact they have hyphenated the word "off-line".
This does look like something that has come down the top and there's probably a very sad digital marketing manager somewhere sat shaking their head in dismay. Poor guy/gal.
Agreed, Jonathan, the centred bolded grey text another bit of a giveaway. The digital equivalent of a comic sans a4 printout in the newsagent window.
They've made the 'contact us' text bright red this morning, so someone's obviously paying a tiny bit of attention, even if they didn't fix the big typo! (they haven't fixed the Google Analytics code on the page either - a tragedy - it's currently knackered, as picked up by James Royal Lawson)
Yes, the design's not likely to feature on dribbble anytime soon. Good spot about the analytics code, maybe it's a deliberate move to enable them to plead ignorance when someone asks "how many people saw our rubbish statement".
Or probably it's just another bit of broken website. Still, nice to see they're advertising their partners in the source code. Including one they might need themselves... "Whatever your situation, you can save time and money with DIY Legal Forms."
I'd just like to pick up on a couple of things said by Stephen Croome here which are unfair, unfounded and don't really have much place in a serious article.
1. "Fourthly, WHSmith obviously does not have any competent digital marketers looking after the site"
2. "The CEO Stephen Clarke used to be head of marketing for WHSmith and Argos, which just goes to show that traditional marketers should not be allowed to run bricks-and-mortar companies which need to transition to digital."
I'm not sure why he feels the need to trash every member of the marketing team at WH Smith here - I presume Stephen feels the same about Amazon's marketing team, seeing as they sold the same books? I mean, of course an isolated incident means the 100s of members of staff at the world's largest online retailer are incompetent!
Stephen Clarke is pretty much brand new to the CEO position, but he's occupied very senior positions since 2004. When he joined, their share price was under half that it was now and I'm going to go ahead and assume to have got the top gig he must be credited by the shareholders as having delivered them a large amount of that fantastic return. Given that his job is to deliver maximum value to the shareholders and they've seen a good return on their investment since he's joined the company, it's grossly unfair to make such a sweeping statement.
In fact, given the typical age of a CEO, it's likely that most of them started their career in offline markets. John Lewis's CEO Andy Street has been with the company all his career - not hiring someone from "digital" doesn't seem to have held them back...
As a self published author I find it disgusting that they've chosen to never stock another self published book as a result of this. Given that they are more than happy to stock WOOL (one of the best selling self-published titles ever that is now doing great things in print) this seems like a remarkable double standard.
Also I don't see how going back and removing the offensive titles will solve their issue. There are plenty of adult novels and titles that they stock which will still come up in searches. Unless they fix their internal search this is just a pointless band-aid of a fix that has only resulted in making self published authors look like idiots and get labelled with the blame. Thanks WHSmith.
It's an utterly bizarre response, and clearly some sort of knee-jerk reaction. No-one would expect WHSmith to do anything other than remove the offending titles, so this is nuts.
Even odder is the fact that the site is still offline. How long does it take to remove the titles?
@Mike I see your point, though I think they're just trying to distance themselves as far as possible from these ebooks.
I think Jonathan is probably right about there being an exasperated digital manager somewhere, wondering how his or her seniors could have been so ignorant to push through such an unconsidered response to this problem.
@Dan - not sure I get what you mean when you say "pouring the money into a black hole by shutting up shop". This money would have gone somewhere (or stayed where it was for the time being), but it certainly wouldn't have been wasted in a black hole. Perhaps Amazon should donate the money it gets from extra trade to charity?
@Duncan: Thanks for the comment, though it's slightly weird that you've chosen to take umbrage at the suggestion of giving money to rape crisis centres as an alternative to refusing to take any money. Though I'm sure that's not the spirit in which you intended the comment.
It was poor wording on my part. I was using the metaphor in the 'ultradense former star' sense rather than suggesting financial irregularity. But from the way you use the phrase I'm not sure that's what you mean.
It was a simple metaphor to illustrate that they have no idea where the money is going, other than knowing it is not arriving via their online checkout as it would every other day of the year. They've obviously shut down the site to protect their reputation. I was suggesting an alternate approach they could have taken to achieve that objective, while simultaneously achieving the twin objectives of 1) doing something fairly objectively positive; 2) continuing to serve their customers.
Worth noting not everything I said was printed. Feel free to give me the benefit of your doubt if you like :)
I hope all's well with you!
Taking down the site was bad enough.
As for how long it takes to remove the titles: This has resulted in thousands of self published authors AND a number of small presses losing access not just to W.H. Smith's site but also to the UK Kobo site. Books have been blocked regardless of their contact - children's and YA authors have been affected by this.
They are not just removing the offending titles. They really are removing ALL self published content from the site - as well as perfectly legitimate publishers who happen to use certain distribution services.
My own books have been removed from kobo.uk because of this, so I admittedly have a personal stake in the matter - and it does not serve their customers to remove hundreds of thousands of perfectly okay books in order to get rid of a tiny number that might qualify as obscene. It certainly does not serve their vendors.
In an act that seems to suggest they want to prove your article right, they have now tweeted said statement line by line: https://twitter.com/lakey/status/390086429499723776
Oh, and changed the email link from red to blue on their site. But kept the typo.
I can only offer sympathy now.
Whilst understanding that they would want to remove the offending titles it does seem an over reaction to remove all self published works. A bit like saying there are bad books out there, let's ban all books.
If I were a shareholder I'd also be worried that the site is still offline (19:15 15 Oct as I type). Are their systems so badly put together that they can't kills some content without killing it all.
As a business I'm surprised that it hasn't gone the same way as Woolworth - I don't think this episode is going to help much.
It's an astounding way to handle the situation. I'm amazed. I'm even more amazed that today, Tuesday, the site is *still* down! That's *three days*. Incredible.
From a web management viewpoint, this case is in a league of it's own. So many interesting aspects to this story...
Yes, they've done a few things right (such as the 503 Service Unavailable) but it really shouldn't have come to this.
You can learn quite a lot about crisis management from this ongoing saga. I've put together a blog post with some reflections and tips
You have to admire the high risk strategy by WH Smith to boost KOBO sales this Christmas...
I wonder if their website traffic has gone up since they took the site down. I never used their site but can't now resist going along to see if the site is back up (it's not). ;)
Maybe this is a new SEO tactic?
As someone who worked for WHSmith in various areas including the online team for several years, my initial reaction to this was amazement.
It may prove, however, to be an act of marketing genius. The website is not well visited and takes a far lower share of sales than you would imagine. Coverage of the incident has been huge by any normal retail standards - front page news and TV headlines - so the damage done by a few days offline may well be offset significantly by increased awareness and visitation.
Keep an eye on their traffic figures over the next few weeks.
Good article, very informative. I've been following WH Smith's marketing for a while now so if you're interested see my blog at my site New River Marketing. The Travel business is doing very well, that's where most of their profits come from. The High Street less so. So I think the strategy of expanding into smaller outlets in the travel segment is correct. But I agree, WH Smith should aspire to challenge Amazon and there's no reason it couldn't. It's just as big a brand in terms of perception and recall, and with a lot more history. Just smaller.


text:
Our key publishers:
Other product variants may be available, please contact us or
request a call back
if you cannot see what you are looking for.
The per Socket licensing is for the managing VMs and Per OS instance is for the physical environment. If they have no VMs, the OS instance is fine, with VMs - must be per socket.


text:
Harvard-Yenching Library
Lending to Non-Harvard Libraries
Harvard-Yenching Library Interlibrary Loan - Room 112
Harvard University
2 Divinity Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138 USA
Tel: 617-495-2756
Fax: 617-496-6008
Ariel: 126.96.36.199
Harvard-Yenching provides loans or photocopies to libraries worldwide. Requests should be sent via OCLC, e-mail, or fax or by our ILL Account Request Form.
These materials have a 28-day loan period with the possibility of one renewal.
The following items are not available through ILL: serials/periodicals; reference materials; AV materials; maps; microfiche; doctoral dissertations; rare or vulnerable materials; double leaves, old Asian bindings; and individual volumes of selected big sets. Some non-circulating materials may be available for photocopy or microfilm reproduction. Please contact the Harvard-Yenching ILL Office for more information.
There is a basic fee of $25 for interlibrary loan or photocopying services. Loans to libraries outside the U.S. are $45 and copies $25. This covers four volumes, six reels of one title, or photocopied material up to 100 pages. Costs may be higher if a large amount of photocopying or special handling is needed. Payment via OCLC ILL Fee Management (IFM) is preferred, or invoices will be forwarded after the ship date. If paid by invoice, payment must be made by check or money order in U.S. dollars.
Please note that each Faculty library at Harvard University has its own Interlibrary Loan office. Requests for materials held by a Harvard library other than Harvard-Yenching should be sent directly to that library.


text:
Why I'm a champion for strong science and you should be, too
"Advancing public scientific literacy is very important to me personally — especially in today's political climate, where everyone's opinions seem to have truth value. That's why I'm a Society member.
I love the Society's mission to communicate science to the general public and to encourage young people to do science well on a global scale.
And I love Science News. It keeps me up-to-date with science outside my primary fields that I would have otherwise missed. The coverage is credible and accessible — I share the links with the community college classes I teach, and they use the references at the end of articles to find out more.
For young people, the Society's work is so valuable in getting them into STEM careers. The Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (Intel ISEF) excites me the most. You see their projects and think: "These kids are going to change the world."
Securing the future of science is going to be about communication and inspiration. I think you guys are doing a great job." — Denise Signorelli, Biology professor and Society member
Become a champion for strong science — join Denise and 100,000 other Society members today: www.societyforscience.org/join.


text:
NEW YORK (AP) — The most exciting few minutes of the NFL draft came on Day 2.
In the span of a few minutes early in Friday night's second round, the San Diego Chargers caused draftniks at Radio City Music Hall to let out a roar with the selection of Notre Dame's Manti Te'o. Just when things were settling down, the New York Jets announced their pick — quarterback Geno Smith. Fans, many clad in Jets jerseys, cheered — and booed.
Te'o, of course, was the victim of a tabloid-ready hoax involving a fake girlfriend. That, and his poor play in the national title game against Alabama, followed by less-than-impressive workouts for pro scouts, had everyone wondering when he would be selected.
Smith, of course, now heads to a team with all kinds of quarterback issues, from starter Mark Sanchez still with the team despite an awful season, Tim Tebow still with the team despite not really getting a chance to play, and three other QBs on the roster for now in David Garrard, Greg McElroy and Matt Simms.
Welcome to San Diego, Manti.
Welcome to the J-E-T-S, Jets, Geno.
Here are 10 things to know about the draft after the first two days. The final four rounds are Saturday.
"I did expect to go in the first round," Te'o said. "But things happened and all it did was give me more motivation to get better. I don't know if I have something to prove, but it definitely puts a huge fire under my butt to just be better."
Asked if he dropped into the second round because of the off-field issues and his flop in the title game, he said: "I really don't know. That's a question that you've got to ask the teams."
Chargers GM Tim Telesco, who traded up seven spots to No. 38 to land Te'o, certainly has no issues with his new guy.
"He's a great kid," Telesco said. "We did a lot of work on Te'o and I've seen him for a number of years. He loves football. He's passionate about it. He loves to practice. He loves to play."
Smith, who was projected as first-rounder, believes he can compete with Sanchez and whoever else is around.
"I love to compete. Mark is a guy who I watched at USC, I watched him in the NFL, and I think highly of him as well as Tim and all of those guys over there," he said, "As I said, I'm coming in as a rookie and I'm going to compete and I'm also going to accept my role whatever it is."
Asked if he thinks he's a franchise QB, he said: "Yes sir. I do believe so and for a number of reasons, but the main thing is that I'm not only coming into practice, I'm going to come into work and I'm going to compete daily and I'm going to also do my best to better my teammates in order for us to win a Super Bowl."
What does it all mean?
New Jets GM John Idzik says: "What this means for Mark Sanchez is competition, and Mark is open to that. We've had discussions about that, and I think he buys into the fact that that helps him and it helps any player on our team, and as a result, it helps our team."
A night after no running backs were taken in the first round for the first time since 1963, the second round produced five, and Alabama star Eddie Lacy (expected to be a first-rounder) wasn't the first to go. Cincinnati gave that distinction to Gio Bernard of North Carolina with the No. 37th overall pick. Then, Michigan State's Le'Veon Bell went to Pittsburgh at No. 48, Wisconsin All-American Montee Ball went to Denver at No. 58, Lacy went to Green Bay at No. 61 and Texas A&M's Christine Michael went to Seattle at No. 62.
The third round produced one running back — Arkansas' Knile Davis to Kansas City at No. 96.
Lacy, who ran for 1,322 yards and 17 touchdowns last season, may have dropped because of concerns about his health, including a hamstring problem that prevented him from participating in the NFL combine and working out for scouts a few weeks ago.
"You can't do anything about it," Lacy said. "I'm just looking forward to being part of a new team and contributing as much as I can."
Among notable players till on the board entering Saturday's final four rounds are quarterbacks Matt Barkley of Southern California, Ryan Nassib of Syracuse and Landry Jones of Oklahoma; running back Marcus Lattimore of South Carolina (recovering from a serious knee injury); and two starters from national champion Alabama, offensive lineman Barrett Jones and defensive tackle Jesse Williams.
Minnesota did not have a second or third-round pick Friday night because they had a huge first round Thursday night with three picks — DT Sharrif Floyd (Florida) at No. 23, DB Xavier Rhodes (Florida State) at No. 25 and a last-second deal with New England moved the Vikings up to snag WR Cordarrelle Patterson (Tennessee) at No. 29.
"I don't think it could've worked out any better for the caliber of players we got coming into our program," Vikings GM Rick Spielman said. "I'm very excited."
The Vikings, coming off a surprising run to the playoffs spearheaded by running back Adrian Peterson, immediately filled three of their biggest needs. A linebacker by the end of the draft and Minnesota will have hit on all cylinders.
Not bad for a team that started last season in what was expected to be a rebuilding one.
Four teams did not have first-round picks, but stepped up in the second round to start filling their needs. Tampa Bay was the first of the four to pick, going for defensive back Johnthan Banks of Mississippi State at No. 43 overall. Washington, which lost its first-rounder in last year's deal to draft Robert Griffin III, went for defensive back David Amerson of North Carolina State at No. 51 overall. New England, known for trading early picks for a bunch of later picks, chose linebacker Jamie Collins of Southern Mississippi at No. 52, and Seattle — after trading down six spots with Baltimore — closed out the second round by taking running back Christine Michael of Texas A&M.
Defensive end Ziggy Ansah of BYU led a parade of international players into the NFL.
Ansah, from Ghana, didn't even know how to put on shoulder pads a few years ago. On Thursday, he was the No. 5 overall pick by the Detroit Lions.
Also going in the first round was Florida State defensive end Bjoern Werner from Germany (Indianapolis, No. 24). Two more went in the second round, SMU defensive end Margus Hunt from Estonia (No. 53, Cincinnati) and Florida State offensive tackle Menelik Watson from Britain (Oakland, No. 42). The third round saw Connecticut linebacker Cisio Moore from Liberia go to Oakland at No. 66. Still on the board is Alabama defensive tackle Jess Williams from Australia.
As predicted, quarterbacks were not popular in the first round, and not too popular in the second- and third-rounds, either. After Buffalo surprised nearly everyone by picking Florida State's EJ Manuel as the only QB in the first round (at No. 16), the next to go was West Virginia's Geno Smith by the New York Jets in the second round, at No. 39, and North Carolina State's Mike Glennon by Tampa Bay in the third round, at No. 73. Of course, stars such as Tom Brady, Drew Brees and even Russell Wilson weren't first-rounders, either.
In a game of one-upmanship, former players from Dallas (Tony Casillas), Pittsburgh (Merril Hoge) and the New York Giants (Rich Seubert) got the fans going before announcing the second-round picks for their teams.
Casillas stepped up to the podium and called out ... "still America's team," the Dallas Cowboys select ...
Next up was Hoge, who chimed in with "the only team to win six Super Bowls," and went on to make Pittsburgh's choice.
And next in the sequence came Seubert, who simply said, "Go Giants!" before announcing New York's pick.
The crowd at Radio City, of course, booed Casillas and Hoge, and cheered Seubert.
The second day of the draft was not for heavyweights. After 18 offensive and defensive linemen totaling nearly 2½ tons were selected in the first round, the second round dropped to five. The third round, though, saw 12 linemen taken. Of course, teams turned their attentions to skill positions, with eight wide receivers and 17 defensive backs taken Friday night.
To the surprise of no one, the Southeastern Conference has provided the NFL with the most draft picks of any conference — 32 of 97 so far. That's one-third of the newest class of the NFL players. The SEC breakdown is 12 in the first round, eight in the second and 12 in the third. Stay tuned for the next four rounds.
No. 2 is the Atlantic Coast Conference with 12, including six first-rounders.
Follow Richard Rosenblatt on Twitter at: http://www.twitter.com/rosenblattap


text:
U-M President Praised as 'Rock Star' for Cutting Costs, Real Numbers Tell a Different Story
University's overall budget has increased 44 percent
In a column in which he referred to University of Michigan President Mary Sue Coleman as a "rock star," Center For Michigan founder Phil Power said U-M has cut its general fund budget.
Power, a former Democrat U-M regent, wrote, "Year by year for more than a decade, the university has been gradually, remorselessly tightening its belt. Over the period, the U of M has taken $235 million in costs out of its general fund budget by reducing expenditures between 1.5 percent and 2.25 percent per year."
Technically, the university may have chipped away expenses worth $235 million in some areas. However, under Coleman's guidance spending increases in other areas have more than made up for those savings, with the U-M general fund budget and spending rising 44 percent, from $1.1 billion in Coleman's first year in 2002-03 to $1.58 billion budgeted in 2011-12.
Power didn't respond to an email seeking comment on his claim.
Charles Owens, Michigan president of the National Federation of Independent Business, said he has seen Michigan's public schools say they have cut their budget despite an overall increase in spending.
"We've seen the same kinds of claims by public schools and lawmakers that are looking for justifications to increase taxes to sustain spending levels," Owens said. "A reduction in a net increase is not a budget cut. It's math that doesn't work in the real world."
Mackinac Center Education Policy Director Michael Van Beek has compared such budgeting practices to a family that cuts its cable bill from $100 to $50 a month and then buys a $1,000 plasma screen TV and claims to have reduced their home entertainment budget by $50. By those accounting practices, Van Beek says even the simplest reductions mean budget cuts no matter how much overall spending increases.
U-M has made significant savings in employees' benefits under Coleman. U-M says it has saved $400 million in employees' benefits costs since 2003. But U-M has spent more in other areas, such as faculty compensation, which rose from $122,943 on average per full-time job in 2005-06 to $141,763 in 2009-10, according to a House Fiscal Agency Report.
U-M says that one-third of all faculty salaries are paid for outside of the general fund by donor gifts, endowment proceeds and research grants, which saves taxpayer dollars.
"Universities spend money hand over fist every year and the University of Michigan is no different," said James Hohman, a fiscal policy analyst for the Mackinac Center. "They may have reduced some of their expenditures. But they are spending more in other areas, year after year."
See also:
The 'Real World' vs. Public School Budget Cuts
University of Michigan: More Staff, Higher Revenue, Higher Pay ... Wants More Money From Taxpayers
University of Michigan Spends $129K To Produce a Degree
Other Big State Universities Tighten Their Belts — U-M Has Much To Learn


text:
Monday 2nd July 2018
- Monday 17th December 2018
The Acoustic Jazz Lounge project is a three set event celebrating music, arts and culture. Every Monday at Ronnie Scott's Bar from 8pm to midnight, Italian saxophonist Renato D'Aiello gets your week off to a flying start with his red hot jazz band performing originals and standards in the first set. An accomplished jazz singer joins Renato on stage as a main guest in the second set.
Expect a rainbow of different styles of music and art forms in the third set from a dazzling array of other guests. Brazilian, Indian and European classical music and poetry. Ian Carr, jazz writer and critic says of him: "Renato is a superlative saxophonist with a passionate and poetic soul. He has all the virtues - a beautiful sense of time and pacing and a technique which effortlessly projects his brilliantly flowing ideas."
Born In Naples, Italy 21-3-1959 resident in London since 1999
Renato D'Aiello has become known as one of the strongest and most beautiful saxophone sounds around. His treatments of jazz standards, and originals, both live and on cd, have won great admiration from audiences and the press. Renato studied with masters such as Sal Nistico, Tony Scott, Steve Grossman .
"Renato is a superlative saxophonist with a passionate and poetic soul. He has all the virtues - a beautiful sense of time and pacing and a technique which effortlessly projects his brilliantly flowing ideas."Ian Carr, Jazz writer
He has played with great jazzmen like : Art Farmer,Sal Nistico, Steve Grossman, Eddie Duran, Kirk Lightsey, Keith Copeland, Duffy Jackson, Tony Scott, Jim Mullen, Bruce Forman, Gene Calderazzo, Phil Lee, G.Husband., Alain jean Marie.
He has played in most of the major venues and festivals in the UK, and since May 2002 he has played several times in Paris, receiving warm acclaim from Jazz Hot magazine and TSF radio. Renato also played in Japan, Berlin, Sweden, Spain, Portugal, Norway, Italy, Finland.
Since July 2010 Renato has been running a very successful Monday night upstairs at Ronnie Scott in London and a few other resident gigs like "Primo bar" at The Plaza Hotel in Westminster,London, Toulouse Lautrec, Spice Of Life.
Renato performs regularly at Pizza Express Dean Street in London and many other of the best clubs in UK. As a teacher Renato has been teaching in most of the best Jazz schools in Italy, then Goldsmiths College in London, Sherborne College and done many master classes in Japan ( Nagoya ) UK, Italy, Swisse.
Tell us what you think of Acoustic Jazz Lounge - Doors open 6pm / £8 on the door below..


text:
{{search.results.count}} results {{searchFilter()}} {{searchQuery()}}
{{search.results.count}} results {{searchFilter()}} {{searchQuery()}}
Enter a search term such as "mobile analytics" or browse our content using the filters above.
That's not only a poor Scrabble score but we also couldn't find any results matching
Check your spelling or try broadening your search.
This service is currently undergoing maintenance.
Please try again later.
Posts tagged with Interviews
Q&A: Golden Krishna explains why the best interface is no interface
How should we be thinking about UX and interface design? What makes for great experiences?
Golden Krishna is a senior UX Designer at Zappos Labs, and is author of 'The best interface is no interface'.
Ahead of his keynote at tomorrow's Future of Digital Marketing conference in London, I asked Golden about the problems with screen-based thinking...
Q&A: Martin Talks on VR and digital marketing
VR looks set to become more mainstream, but what implications does this have for marketing?
I've been talking to Martin Talks, founder of 10x Army, a wearable tech and IoT company which specialises in virtual reality (VR).
He'll be speaking at our Future of Digital Marketing conference this week, looking at VR and digital marketing.
Q&A: Digital marketing and the next generation
William Higham is a Consumer Futurist, speaker and author. He is also CEO of forecasting and strategy consultancy The Next Big Thing.
He will be delivering the afternoon keynote at this week's Future of Digital Marketing conference looking at Digital Marketing and the Next Generation.
I caught up with William today to talk about the future of digital marketing.
Q&A: eBay on mobile commerce and innovation
EBay invested heavily in mobile from very early on, and its sales now reflect the value of this strategy.
Almost half of eBay's transactions globally are now touched by mobile at some point in the transaction, whether people research or buy on moble.
I've been speaking to Jonathan Gabbai, Head of International Mobile at eBay about its mobile strategy...
Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff on the power of the cloud
I had the pleasure of meeting Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce last week at Exact Target's Connections conference in Indianapolis.
Together with other analysts from Gartner and Forrester, we were given some untethered access to him as well as to Scott McCorkle, CEO of Exact Target Marketing Cloud and Alex Dayon, President, Products at Salesforce.
In private, Benioff the man is very different from the on stage persona many of us are familiar with - the exuberant showman, evangelizing the company he founded with the all the energy and enthusiasm of a gospel preacher.
Any of you who have ever attended his company's annual Dreamforce event will know what I'm talking about.
Like the oft-repeated meme in HBO's Silicon Valley, the audience is presented with the idea of a business that's 'making the world a better place'. Superlatives abound as the crowd applaud.
Brothers and sisters, I believe in the power of the cloud! One thing's for sure, Benioff and his team know how to put on a show.
Q&A: Selfridges' Simon Forster on the brand's multichannel retail strategy
Selfridges has just relaunched its website, part of a £40m investment over the next five years, which aims to future-proof the business.
We paid a visit to Selfridges' London offices for a preview of the new site, and a chat with the company's Multichannel Director Simon Forster.
Here, he explains the thinking behind the redesign, the growth of mobile shoppers, and the challenges of presenting a luxury user experience.
Q&A: Bathrooms.com on SEO, PR, and online customer service
Bathrooms.com relaunched its site last year, and also began a more PR-focused approach to SEO, after receiving a penalty or two from Google.
Now, a year or so later, this approach seems to be working. I've been asking Adam Cassar, digital marketing manager at Bathrooms.com, about this SEO strategy, its site redesign and its new 'digital concierge' service.
IBM on its agile marketing strategy: the theory and the practice
I have written a lot about the opportunities of adopting an agile marketing approach.
However, it is quite hard to find many examples of this being practiced yet, particularly at any kind of scale, and even more particularly by organisations that are not start-ups. IBM is one such example and it is great to see B2B marketing leading the way here.
Ben Edwards is VP, Global Communications & Digital Marketing at IBM. He leads the company's global communications function, global advertising & media, brand strategy & design, digital strategy and IBM Marketing Labs.
Following is a transcript of an interview I did with him to understand IBM's thinking around agile marketing and how this is playing out in practice.
Q&A: Kopi's Philip Wilkinson on the Cafedirect acquisition
Gourmet coffee subscription service Kopi was recently acquired by Cafedirect, three years after its launch.
I've been talking to Kopi co-founder Philip Wilkinson about the deal and the challenges of building a subscription business...
The Student Room Group on the importance of conversion rate optimisation
The Student Room Group is one of the UK's largest sites for students, and has experienced plenty of success with a continuous CRO (conversion rate optimisation) strategy.
I spoke to director of optimisation Pete Taylor to find out more about the company's conversion optimisation strategies, what's proved to be effective, and which tools are the most useful...
Nominet explains the reasons for .uk domains
Nominet's proposals to add a .uk domain have not been popular, to put it mildly.
However, it has decided to introduce the change anyway, albeit with some minor concessions.
Critics point out that the new domains aren't necessary, devalue the existing .co.uk domains, and impose unwanted costs on online businesses.
So why has Nominet decided to go ahead with the move anyway? I've asked the question...
Best Western: how customer experience and telling stories will grow your business
Tim Wade is Director of Marketing & Ecommerce at Best Western Hotels, and has been responsible for repositioning the brand in Great Britain under the strap line 'Hotels with personality'.
Tim will be speaking at our JUMP event on October 9 about the importance of customer experience and storytelling for the brand.
In advance of this, I've been asking him about the story behind his presentation...


text:
Paramount Network is a premium entertainment destination that pushes the limits of story-telling with bold original scripted and non-scripted series. Inspired by over a century of cinema, Paramount Network is where today's brightest stars bring the experience of the big screen to every screen with stories that are immersive, inclusive, and deeply personal.
Paramount Network is the home of American Woman, Yellowstone, Lip Sync Battle, Ink Master, Bar Rescue, Bellator MMA and more.
© 2018 Spike Cable Networks Inc. All Rights Reserved. Paramount Network and all related titles and logos are trademarks of Paramount Pictures. Viacom is a trademark of Viacom International Inc.


text:
< Boming Suspect Moved From Hospital to Prison
Apr 29, 2013 06:50
Category: General News
Category: General News
Oregon Software Jobs Grow
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A new analysis by the Oregon Employment Department has found software jobs are growing quickly, even though the state's economy is still sluggish. The Oregonian reports software jobs are growing at a double-digit percentage rate. Two-thirds of Oregon's software jobs are in the Portland area, followed by the Eugene-Springfield area.


text:
When the original Chrysler 300 debuted in 2005 (make that the modern original, as the nameplate first appeared in 1955), it was a dramatic affirmation that the classic American sedan — a big, rear-wheel-drive, V-8 — could still be relevant, rather than just some hoary old throwback suitable only for sunbelt geezers and the livery trade. With its blocky, vaguely Bentley-esque design, the car was an immediate hit. It was a darling of today's tastemakers, the hip-hop crowd, and was frequently customized. Much was made of the fact that Snoop Dogg phoned up then-Chrysler president Dieter Zetsche ("Doctor Z") looking to get one.
In, then out
In the years following, the fervor over the 300's styling inevitably cooled, and people began to take a more critical look at the car underneath. Although the 300 still represented the best of Chrysler Corporation, it was not immune from the problems that were rife throughout the company's lineup, including painfully penny-pinched interiors, rudimentary chassis tuning, and plentiful road noise. Buyers who didn't step up to the Hemi V-8 also suffered with one of two V-6 engines that were underpowered and coarse.
Given Chrysler's tumultuous bankruptcy and new ownership under Fiat, it's safe to say that expectations for the revamped 300 were not high. The new 300, however, has proven to be one of the nicest surprises of the year. It's a far more worthy example of Chrysler's back-from-the-brink ethos than the 200, which was used in the award-winning "Imported from Detroit" TV commercial.
More changed than it appears
The reworked sheetmetal appears at first to be just a tweaking, but it actually incorporates significant changes, such as a less upright windshield and less massive pillars, both of which aid visibility. The car also wears a lot more jewelry, with LED daytime running lights, LED taillamps, and a more chrome-heavy visage.
The more evident changes are inside. Again, the visuals are brighter and glitzier, starting with a standard 8.4-inch touch-screen that incorporates a variety of controls — a few too many, actually, although there are large knobs and some physical buttons for important HVAC and audio functions. The other good news is that the screen's touch points are large and the logic is clear. Gauges with thick chrome surrounds and bright blue LED lighting (day or night) also makes quite a visual impression, and real wood trim is liberally used, including on the thick rim of the steering wheel. The oversize seats are comfortable, the optional leather is high quality, and soft-touch surfaces abound. Doctor Z and his cohorts wouldn't recognize this cabin.
The list of standard and available features is long. Options include adaptive HID headlamps, blind-spot warning and rear cross-path detection, adaptive cruise control with forward collision warning, and a panoramic sunroof. Standard items (on the 300C) include heated and ventilated seats, heated rear seats, heated steering wheel, power steering column, heated and cooled cup holders, Nappa leather, keyless ignition and remote start, navigation, a backup camera, and LED ambient interior lighting. Obviously, one of the lessons of the Daimler/Cerberus years that had to be unlearned was that one should be stingy with standard equipment.
More than skin deep
The reworking of the 300, however, goes deeper than upgrading the interior and adding a lot more equipment. There's been some reengineering of the car underneath, and that's noticeable too, once you drive it. There's a new electric power steering system, and it's tuned well enough — precise and well weighted — that it easily could pass for hydraulic. The suspension has been revamped, and on the 300C AWD, which has the Touring-tuned Suspension (larger anti-roll bars and firmer dampers), it felt pleasantly tied-down but still delivered an exceptionally comfortable ride — particularly given the standard 19-inch wheels. Engineers also threw a bunch of noise-reduction measures at the car, and indeed it is a quiet cruiser.
The V-8 powertrain essentially carries over, and the much-vaunted Hemi and the five-speed automatic turn out to be one of the weakest aspects of the new car. The Hemi is still sweet sounding and powerful (363 hp) but it has a pretty big drinking habit, although at least it's satisfied with regular. The optional all-wheel-drive system exacerbates the situation, despite its ability to disconnect from the front wheels when operating in rear-wheel-drive mode. Also, the V-8/AWD car, at 4513 pounds, carries an additional 500-plus pounds compared to the six-cylinder, rear-wheel-drive version.
Still, as an example of a true, American-style luxury car, the 300 pretty much stands alone. Lincoln doesn't make a car like this. Cadillac (!) doesn't make a car like this (the CTS may be good but it's determinedly Euro). The 300's formula is one your dad would recognize: a powerful V-8, rear-wheel drive, a roomy interior, plenty of flash, lots of gadgetry, and solid street presence. The most surprising thing about the 300 is that all the chrome and leather, all the electronics and LEDs, do not feel like a thin veneer of glitz papering over a cheap substrate. The car is quiet, the powertrain is smooth, the steering is direct, the seats are firm, and the ride quality is good.
Thirst and weight are negatives, but the new 300 earns its swagger. But with this test example, the 300C AWD (the most expensive version), starting at $41,145 and maxing out at $46,880 with options, the question becomes: Does it have $46,880 worth of swagger? I think the 300 is getting ahead of itself at those prices. It's unlikely anyone actually pays those prices given Chrysler's hefty incentives (currently averaging more than $3000), but still. It may be that the much-improved new V-6 — which for 2012 comes with an eight-speed automatic — is the way to go, as it deflates the sticker and dramatically improves fuel economy. Indeed, that's the version that stars in the 300's own "Imported from Detroit" commercial. There are those who quibble that the 300 is made in Ontario, and that Jay-Z, whose music is used in the 300 commercial, is not a Detroiter. But I'd argue that the spot is still impactful, and this car is too.
2011 Chrysler 300C AWD
Base price (with destination): $41,145
Price as tested: $46,880
Standard Equipment:
5.7-liter V-8
5-speed automatic transmission
Four-wheel drive
Four-wheel disc brakes with ABS and Brake Assist
Traction control
Stability control
Hill start assist
Keyless entry and ignition
Remote start
Dual front, side curtain, and driver's knee air bags
Active head restraints
Cruise control
Rain-sensing wipers
Leather-trimmed seats
8-way power seats
Heated front and rear seats
Ventilated front seats
Wood and leather steering wheel w/audio controls
Power windows
Power rear sunshade
U-Connect touch-screen navigation
Voice controls
Back up camera
XM satellite radio
Dual-zone automatic climate control
Fog lamps
Dual chrome exhaust tips
19-inch wheels
Options on this vehicle:
Ivory tri-coat pearl exterior paint – $995
Sound group 1 – $650
9 amplified speakers with subwoofer
506-watt amplifier
SafetyTec – $2795
Power multi-function mirrors with manual fold-away
Automatic headlamp leveling system
Bi-Xenon adaptive HID headlamps
Rear fog lamps
Forward collision warning
ParkSense front/rear park assist system
Blind spot and cross path detection
Adaptive cruise control
Exterior mirrors with supplemental signals and courtesy lamps
Dual-pane panoramic sunroof – $1295
Key options not on vehicle:
Fuel economy:
15 / 23 / 18 mpg
Horsepower: 363 hp @ 5200 rpm
Torque: 394 lb-ft @ 4200 rpm
5-speed automatic
Curb weight: 4513 lb
19.0 x 7.5 inch wheels
235/55R19 Michelin Pilot MK MXM4 tires
Hyundai Genesis
Lincoln MKS
Nissan Maxima
Volvo S60


text:
Featured News - Current News - Archived News - News Categories
Susan V. Martin, RN, BSN, has been appointed director of women's services at Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center effective Aug. 19.
Her appointment was announced by Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer Joanne Krolewski, RN, BSN.
A graduate of Niagara County Community College and Niagara University, Martin has spent her entire career in women's health services and has extensive experience in direct patient care, including critical care.
Martin is a former clinical team leader at Sisters of Charity Hospital, Buffalo, where she managed a 25-member OB/GYN staff. She most recently worked in the labor and delivery unit at Mount St. Mary's Hospital in Lewiston.
She is certified in neonatal resuscitation and is a member of the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses.


text:
We have scheduled boat dives departing to world class dive sites and shore diving onsite in our private sheltered cove. Our purpose built dive centre has hot showers, male and female changing rooms, coffee dock & viewing area with free Wi-Fi, Air and Nitrox to 300 bar, our extensive rental room includes top of the range neoprene drysuits and thermals, semi-drys, weight integrated BCD's and regulators fitted with dive computers. We are agents for Scubapro, SUUNTO, O'Three, Fourth Element, Analox, Oceanic and many more. We are also an IDEST approved Dive Cylinder Testing House.
Discover Scubadive West, we are on the Wild Atlantic Way!